(Kind Of) Cohabiting

(Is it a bad omen that I found this picture on a divorce site? Oops.)

So, for the past week or so Dave and I have found ourselves cohabiting. It wasn't really planned, and we're not sharing the bills or anything like that. Yet. Here's how it happened...

My family is originally from Ohio, and my grandfather and aunt still live there. Recently, my grandpa (here on out known as Ed) has been having some health issues. Complications from Congestive Heart Failure. My mom, bearing the guilt that only the oldest child can bear (I know this, b/c I am the oldest as well obvs...), decided she needed to go out there to help take care of all the things having an elder parents entails. I am glad she did. It was touch and go there for awhile, and I was ready to drive out myself. Ed is such a big, strong man, that we don't see him going anywhere anytime soon, despite his 90 years of age.

While she stays there helping out my aunt, I have been left the house to care for. This is good for many reasons: I feel like an actual 27 y/o having my own place, I don't have to unload the dishwasher the minute I get home from work, and no one nags me to wipe out the sink after I brush my teeth. There is a whole bunch of awesomeness to this living alone situation, but there is one big problem: I hate being alone. At night, specifically. And so, I won't. Enter Dave :)

Dave and I are now splitting our time between my house and his. 3 days here. 4 days there. Or 2 days here and 4 days there and 1 day here. However it ends up. It's a pain in the ass, packing bags, and lugging groceries back and forth (yes, we do), and not to mention Georgie's stuff!

And I kind-of like it. Granted, there was a moment last night where we were ready to sleep in separate rooms, if not separate houses...but I'm thinking of it all as a preview for what's ahead. And overall, we make it work. With the stress of the back and forth. So cheers to that!

Talk to me in two weeks. I hope I'm as satisfied and positive about this whole situation as I am today. I have a sneaking suspicion I will be :)

A. Quirky

Quirky. But Not in a Good Way.

Phew, it's been awhile since I wrote. Sorry about that. Uninteresting personal stuff.

While I was gone though, I got a make-under. Do you remember Jane Magazine? I looooved Jane Magazine. But I wasn't quirky enough for it when I read it. One of the editors hosted a party and served Pimm's Cups. I had to google what Pimm's Cups were. And I still don't know what they are. Anyhoo...they did make-unders for girls who wore too much red lipstick and liquid eyeliner. And girls who teased their hair about 12 inches too high. I loved that part of the magazine.

Well, I got a make-under of my very own recently. And it wasn't on purpose. And I hate it.

It started with my hair. The lovely lady that usually does my hair is actually a friend of mine. And she had a lovely baby. Well, a handsome, lovely, baby, and she couldn't do my hair. So, she suggested her friend at the salon do it in her absence. I actually somewhat knew said friend, and she is also a very lovely lady. And she did a nice job, except I couldn't help but hear the tiny voice in my head saying, "Your hair is tinted orange. Your hair is tinted orange." I ignored the voice. It's pretty much always there. I can't always listen to it, how else would I teach kids how to draw line segments and identify a right angle?

So, I drove home, still ignoring the voice (how else could I order my dinner from Chipotle?), and showed my Mom. I told my Mom my hair was orange. She said it was Strawberry Blonde. Well, that worked for me. I loved Strawberry Blondes! They were adorable, pretty, dainty, and quirky! Perfect! I would now be all of those things.

Except I wasn't. My hair actually got orange-err. Well more carmellyyy. Which I also thought sounded cool. But not dainty or quirky. Sexy. Trendy. Perfect. I'll take sexy and trendy. Except...carmel just isn't my color.

I decided I'd fix my problem by making an appointment with Lovely Hairdresser #1 (Friday, where are youuuuu?) Problem Solved. Right? Well, sorta.

In the midst of all the hair drama I popped in my favorite nail place to get my eyebrows waxed. It's cheap ($7), and they do a really nice job 8 out of 10 of the times. And even those other 2 are pretty okay. Well, let's say this last time wasn't really nice, or pretty okay, or even okay. My eyebrows are practically gone! I should've known when the tweezing portion (my least favorite part) was taking waaaaay too long. Or when she handed me the mirror for only half a second to look. Of course I said, "Very nice job. Thank you!" I always say very nice job!

So now I'm walking around with an awkward hair color, and even more awkward eyebrows. Dave still loves me. People still look me in the eye. And my students don't run away when I greet them in the morning.

And I probably seem so shallow for even writing this, but I don't care. I wanted to vent about taking a step backward in my quest to become cutely quirky.

Thanks for Listening,

Not So Quirky

The Trifecta: Cheese, Mustard, and Puff Pastry

Havarti Cheese & Mustard Stuffed Pastry

(Italics makes it look fancy)

When I was younger my parents were very close friends with 2 other couples. We got together frequently, and this was an appetizer that one of the couples made every time. Every.time. Because it's delicious, and now that I make it, I suspect they also made it because it is the easiest thing in the world to make. Easier than a cheese and cracker tray. I. Swear.

Here's the ingredient list:

-1 Puff Pastry Shell
-2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
-1 tsp minced garlic
-1 tsp fresh horseradish
-1 block havarti cheese
-1 egg

(pretend there's an egg in this picture)

Here goes deliciously easy perfection:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

2. Unwrap your room temperature pastry shell. (If it is frozen it will break when you're working with it)

3. Place it in a lightly greased baking dish (the cuter, the better)

4. Grab the havarti cheese. Yum.


5. Place it in the center of the pastry.


6. Now, mix your Dijon Mustard, horseradish, and minced garlic.


7. Once it's all mixed together use a spoon to spread it on all 6 sides of the havarti.


8. Now, wrap the puff pastry as if you were wrapping a present. You are, really.

9. This includes the part of the pastry without filling as well.


9. Now, take an egg white, and use a pastry brush to "glaze" the outside of the puff pastry. The egg white will help keep the seams together, as well as help achieve the golden-brown oven look :)

10. Now, bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. You'll know this deliciousness is done when it has a golden brown appearance. I also like to see some cheese oozing out of it. It's better that way. Trust me.


Tell me that doesn't look delicious.

For you savvy "Where's Waldo Experts", you'll notice that my completed Havarti Specialty is now sitting on top of a different stove. That's because I started it at my house, and took it to Girl's Night, where it was promptly devoured. That's another beautiful thing about this dish. It's very, very easy to make and take.

Now go make. And possibly take.

-A. Quirky

"I Have Another Confession to Make..."

Actually, this is my first ever blog confession. That's just a line from a Foo Fighter's song. I'm so happy I used it because now it's stuck in my head. Come to think of it, Foo Fighters are like, almost always, in my head. I think it's Radio 104.5's fault. They're always playing Foo Fighters. David Grohl either owns Radio 104.5, or has serious stock in the company. I'm gonna look into that. But none of this has anything to do with what I am writing about today. I know. It's a problem. Imagine actually talking to me in person. I know. It's a problem.

Here's my actual confession: I bought Wedding Stationary. This is a problem because I don't have a wedding date. Even more so, I'm not even engaged. I am however, one of those girls. I read wedding blogs. I scout locations. I find bridesmaid dresses I like, and wonder to myself if they'll flatter all the different body types of girls that will be in my wedding. The wedding that hasn't been planned yet. Because I'm not engaged yet. Oh boy.

This is the first time, though, that I've purchased something for said imaginary wedding. There I was, wandering down the aisles of HomeGoods (that's a whole other blog) and all of the sudden three little orange boxes came tumbling down into my cart! Okay, not really, but I did find them by chance in the mirror aisle (another "wedding planning, not-yet-engaged bride", having second thoughts perhaps?). They were white. They were simple. They were cute. And they were EYELET! I looooove eyelet! It's like one of my top 5 adjectives! And better yet, they were cheap! Also one of my top 5 adjectives (the good cheap, not the bad cheap, just for clarification). Five dollars for a box of 40. I scooped up 3. Sorry 121st person/couple/family on my imaginary wedding list, you're not invited anymore.

I justify this semi-creepy act in many ways. One, they were so cheap, that even if I change my mind, I didn't blow a ton of money. Two, I have champagne taste on a TwoBuckChuck budget. This means when I actually get married, I'll have to "settle" on certain items when I'm wedding planning. Invitations are definitely one of those items for me. And most importantly, Dave and I talk about getting married. Well I talk. He listens. But I know its in our (not toooooo far off) future, which makes it less of an impulse buy.

I love eyelet, but me being me, I'd have to alter them in some way or another when the time comes (see, I know I'm not engaged yet!). I actually found a few cute ideas when I was googling an image for this post.

(I cannot take a picture of the ones I own because they are hidden somewhere deep in my closet for no one to find. I'll pull them out when I am actually engaged and say, "Oh lookie what I stumbled upon in HomeGoodes today!")

Anyways, I really liked what Cece, at Dill Pickle Picnic, did with her set:

(Image via dillpicklepicnic.com. Check out all the awesome crafts ideas she has while you're there)

She rounded the edges, added a flower graphic on top, and used a cute font. Definitely something to keep in mind.

So that's my "dirty little secret...I hope that you can keep it..."

Damnit. Another song stuck in my head,

A. Quirky

Baby Steps

Hello All!

Well, I broke my New Year's Resolution already. Don't remember it? Check it out here. But I'm justifying it because I only broke it at work. Wait, I never say work, I say school. Because I'm a teacher, remember? As any good teacher knows, lesson plans are the key to a successful, organized, and productive classroom. As any teacher also knows, they are the bane of one's existence. They totally stink. The only thing that stinks more is grading. Remember when you were in school and got to grade your neighbors paper? Wasn't that so fun? Well it's not anymore.

Anywayyouprobablydontcareaboutthat, I slacked off during break, and didn't create lesson plans for this week. Fear not, my students were not climbing bookshelves and hanging from the flag pole during the Pledge of Allegience, I pulled myself together around 7am, and arranged some pretty kick-ass activities about Christmas Break and Resolutions.

And because, as any good teacher knows, teaching by example is always helpful to the little kiddos. So I shared my New Year's Resolution. They thought it was boring, and wanted to have resolutions like "remember to feed my fish" instead. Whatever, I guess that's a pretty good one for a 7 year old.

But since I need someone to think my resolutions are smart, or practical, or even logical, I am sharing them with you. My general resolution was to be more organized. That's a giant step for quirky-kind though, so last night (during the Eagles game, yeah that game, the really embarrasing one) I told Dave we were gonna start with baby-steps. (He automatically shares the same New Year's Resolution as me). Presenting Baby Steps:

Almost Quirky Home Renovation List:

January:

1) Order cable box for bedroom (cannot stand not having HGTV in here!!!!)

2) Buy and install new hardware for bedroom set

Yep. That's it. Baby steps people, baby steps.

Maybe in February we'll have a few more items on the list, or a few more major items on the list. But, as any good teacher knows (are you tired of this yet?), you have to instill confidence in a child to encourage them to take risks. This means lots of positive reinforcement, and scaffolding (starting small).

I'll let you know how our January To Do List goes. I'd be too embarrassed to ever admit we didn't get that meager stuff done though, so you'll probably be reading a post the first week of February declaring "Mission Completed", whether we did or not ;)

Do you start off your resolution or goals with baby steps? Surely this can't be a secret only teachers know about ;)

Till Next Time,

A. Quirky

Happy New Year!

Okay, so I'm a day late. But the most productive thing I did yesterday was open a bottle a Motrin, and swallow a few of those puppies. They didn't help. The 20+ hours of sleep finally did. So yayyy! Happy New Year!


Dave and I celebrated in a pretty rad way. (New Year's Resolution: Use rad in sentences more often). Our friends, Katie and Justin, got married, and it was F-U-N!!!! Seriously, surrounded by people you love, in a hotel (no worries about driving after a few too many cocktails), with delicious food and (tons of) dancing is the way to go.


Here's my first official blog photo of Dave and I:


Happy New Year! So looking forward to all of 2011 :)

-A. Quirky